Wagga Wagga Wombat Collective
The team page can be found here. History The Wagga Wagga Wombat Collective is a long-standing veteran team founded by the Australian user Camel in Season 3. At the time, Camel was its captain and manager, but due to extenuating circumstances, he had to step down from some of his team duties and instead resides as the team co-captain. The user SASCO, the agent of massively successful, three-time First Team and Season 8 MVP Chazz-Michael Michaels, has taken over these duties. Before the start of the three different leagues (Kareem, Bird, and Jordan), the Collective was a developing team, ending Season 3 in Playground A but then progressing to Pro B by the end of Season 7. The team was not filled in Season 3 but the team cruised to a 29-7 record in the Playground Leagues. They were relegated to playing even more player-deficient teams during Season 3 and amassed a rating of 394. Season 4 was much more productive for the team, as they finally progressed into the College ranks. A 33-12 record was posted - demonstrating a remarkable improvement over the previous season's record. Aside from the first game, every team the Collective played was a challenge. The team boasted an 11.4 point-per-game win margin, with the quickly-rising Chazz-Michael Michaels already distributing the ball around for double-digit assists. He had hardly met his peak, but Michaels averaged 10.1 assists per game, with his crowning achievement becoming a fifteen-assist game against Taiwan PTT. Big man Big Cox nearly averaged a double-double on the season with 12.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg. His best game was likely that against Da o1e, an 18-rebound, 14-point game that the Collective lost, 105-91. Season 5 saw the Collective on the brink of major success, as the team touched into College A and amassed 1264 rating points. They compiled a 26-19 record (57.8% W) and Chazz-Michael Michaels, while not such an instrumental leader in this season, aided his team slightly more through scoring (7.4 ppg, 8.0 apg). This also marked the debut of defensive guard Sun Wen Kingdun, who averaged 3.7 spg and had won the All-Defensive Team award with the Franchise Underdogs the previous season. Season 6 saw even more improvement from the team, which fluttered into Pro D and won 26 of its 45 games once more. The team gained 1824 rating points and finally got into the playoffs, losing a first-round game against the Snap Attackerz, 83-94. Guard Sun Wen Kingdun achieved success this season, winning the All-Defensive Team award for the second time in three seasons with 3.7 steals per game. The final season before the introduction of Leagues, Season 7, was the most productive season for the team to-date, as they defeated Crown This Team 147-111 thanks to an extraordinary 44 points from I take lots of drugs, whose scoring binge had only begun. The team lost in its second playoff game to the now-retired Pro Juggernaut Fighting Mongooses. Forward Big Cox had regressed slightly as a scorer in favor of a more defensive repertoire, garnering 14.9 rpg. He had at least ten rebounds in every game aside from two that season. Chazz-Michael Michaels earned his way to a First Team Court Rivals award through his contributions on the offensive end of the court, averaging 9.2 assists and 8.0 points in the Kareem league.. The Collective launched themselves into the spotlight in Season 8, where they elected to go to Bird - they dominated in Pro A, compiling a 30-12 record and winning five games in the playoffs en route to a mere four-point championship loss to the Raiders of the Lost Walrus, another team headed by Camel. Chazz-Michael Michaels was selected to the First Team once more and won the Regular Season MVP. With 11.1 apg and 7.6 ppg, it was obvious as to who had become the league's premier offensive force. The team had become the South Region Champions and Finalists before facing a quite similarly-constructed Raiders of the Lost Walrus team. Rivalries 'American Dodgeball Association of America' The Association, captained by Scatman Duse Lives On, ignited a rivalry with an intense 103-100 win over the Collective in Season 7. The Association got off to a poor start, creating an 8-15 deficit after the first six minutes or so. However, ADAA, led by forward Butters Stotch and scoring phenom God Shammgod with 21 and 13 points respectively, staged a comeback and took their own lead, 101-86, with just a few minutes left. The Collective received contributions throughout the team, with Chazz-Michael Michaels, I take lots of drugs, and Adingos Gotmewombat nearly staging a comeback in a hotly contested game. The Association shot an impressive 53.3% from the field while the Collective failed to capitalize on their excellent rebounding, shooting just 41-110 (37.3%) for the day. In Season 8, the teams met twice - once in the regular season, a 126-117 performance that doused the hopes of the Collective, and once in the playoffs, where the Collective finally got their revenge, defeating the Association 108-120. In the latter of these two games, the Collective was aided by superb passing led by none other than point-guard phenomenon Chazz-Michael Michaels, who would later receive the Regular Season MVP Award for his efforts. The Collective took advantage of their rebounding, tricking out the Association by instead playing the transition game, garnering 12 steals while only allowing 9 turnovers for the entire team. Ancient Killer Wombat shot 42.8% from beyond the arc while leading the team in points with 30. The tides turned once more in Season 9, when the ADAA handed down a 98-123 beatdown on the Collective, who had no answer for Josh Smoove (32 pts, 71.4 FG%) and the Association. The Collective shot a pitiful 41.6% from the field on 42-101 shooting; their best player shot 53.3% from the field and managed 23 points. Big Cox and Po Hsieh, the men who usually attained a double-double during the rest of the season, were limited to 15 rebounds and 7 points and 26 rebounds and 2 points, respectively. The concept of the fast-paced, high-turnover game that had won the Collective their first game in this matchup was shut down, as they turned the ball over 16 times but only forced 5 turnovers from the Association. 'Raiders of the Lost Walrus' Raiders of the Lost Walrus is another team founded by Camel - however, he has deferred his duties to Odobenus Rosmarus' agent, SuperSlicer. The 'feud' of sorts had not begun until the end of Season 8, where the two teams faced off in the first-ever Bird League final. The Collective first faced the Raiders in Season 5, in which the Collective took the advantage in a three-point game. The Collective had not yet been able to find a range with their three-pointer, and Forward Deus Deceptor quickly took the position as go-to guy - he scored 27 points on 13-23 shooting. With three steals and seven rebounds, Deceptor was named the MVP of the game by marv88harrison's Player of the Game criteria. Guard Chazz-Michael Michaels once more had a dominant game with 8 assists and 13 points as the Collective eked out a win over scoring phenom Jay Splash, who had 23 points on 9-15 shooting. What contributed most to the win was likely the rebounding of big men Big Cox and Man-Bear-Pig Daylight, who had 11 and 15 rebounds, respectively - the team out-rebounded the Raiders 58-39 and gave the team a 102-81 shooting opportunity advantage. Raiders of the Lost Walrus got their revenge in the following season with a 103-74 blowout win over the Collective. Guards Jay Splash and I HasABucket somehow dominated the Collective's apparently indomitable defense with 23 and 28 points each, and the rebounding margin had diminished entirely. The Raiders out-rebounded the Collective 56-45, and because the Collective's shooters struggled from all distances, the team could not prevail or even keep the game respectable. The two shining moments for the downed team were six steals from guard Sun Wen Kingdun and seven blocks from forward The Ultimate Wombat of DOOM. Team superstar Chazz-Michael Michaels simply couldn't find his rhythm, managing just 5 assists and 3 points - and his passing was simply too integral to the Collective's offense. Season 7 was not much better for the Collective against their primary rival, as the Raiders beat out the Collective 114-97. Guard Jay Splash absolutely massacred the Collective, ripping the team for 44 points on 75% shooting from beyond the arc. The Raiders took advantage of some risky ball-handling by stealing the rock from the Collective 26 times; The Ultimate Wombat of DOOM was embarrassed with eight total turnovers and 1-6 shooting for 5 points. Guard I take lots of drugs shot a remarkable 71.4% from beyond the arc, but that was not enough to save the Collective from losing by 17 points to their adversaries. Season 8 was the most momentous of all for each of these teams, as they faced off the day before the playoffs had begun and in the playoffs final after surpassing various high seeds and championship favorites. The first was a three-point win for the Raiders (132-129) in a super-high-paced game in which I take lots of drugs scored 38 and Jay Splash scored 36, both of whom came off of the bench. The true difference-makers were three-point shooting and missed opportunities from the charity stripe, as the Raiders converted 11-14 free throw shots and shot 63.6% from beyond the arc as a team. The Collective also shot over 50% from beyond the arc, but Jay Splash and his antics were simply too much for the Collective. The Championship game of Season 8 appeared to be a blow-out after the end of the third quarter, as the Collective had scored a devastating 53 points in twelve minutes. Ancient Killer Wombat was the hero for the Collective, as he scored 38 points on 58.8% three-point shooting. The Raiders made a ten-point comeback in the fourth quarter that propelled the team to a 136-132 win, even though big man Big Cox single-handedly out-rebounded the entire Raiders' bench, 15-11. The disparity in turnovers (6-22, in favor of the Raiders) allowed them to have 9 more shooting opportunities and five more foul shots, which eventually ended in a heartbreaking loss for the Collective. Standings As of June 16, 2009 Full Roster As of June 16th, 2009